The wildlife protection law may seem to stay a little longer in China after the country experienced massive uproar when the plan to scrap the criminality of eating or selling rare species of animals emerged.
According to the South China Morning Post, animals that are already considered endangered of extinction will no longer be part of the highly exotic menu in China.
Apparently, the proposed amendment in the Wildlife Conservation Act of 1998 was highly contested and even sparked an outcry, especially after the public learned that the reform would entail the removal of the clause that defines selling, producing or eating rare animals or products related herein are criminal acts.
According to the New York Times, this reform would pave the way to further exploitation of endangered animals and could jeopardize existing wildlife conservation programs, like the ban in staging animal performances and the prohibition in the trade of rhino horn and tiger bone, among others.
Fortunately, Chinese legislators decided to reinstate the said clause in their proposed amendment, leaving animal rights advocates satisfied.
"[To state clearly that eating rare wildlife is illegal] is a big step forward from the first draft that made an exception for hunting and eating rare wild animals for medicinal use," Beijing Dexiang Law Firm director An Xiang said.
The amendment is already in its second draft after the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee deliberated the first one which was deemed too lax.
According to the first draft submitted to the NPC in Dec. 2015, the use of rare animals from the wild in manufacturing medicine or dietary supplements must "follow the related medicine, supplement or food ordinances."
The outcry sparked when the draft did not indicate a ban, something that advocates like Jeff He of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) wanted all along.
"But the revised law should state more clearly the ban on commercial use of wild animals, instead of just banning eating them," He stated.